Jackson prevails over Hoover in OT!

Published on: 23rd January, 2010

Massillon, OH. –

Friday night at Jackson was a sense and taste of Tournament action, as two teams with ice in their veins along with cross-town stimulation added to the sold out electric atmosphere of near 2,300.

One in attendance felt as if it were a casting call for the movie Rocky 4 – as elbows, chests and arms would fly around all night in a game that would take an extra 4 minutes to decide in overtime. After all the chest bumping, court storming, high fives and phantom calls Massillon Jackson would find a way to claim a 59-56 victory and improve to 5-0 in Federal League Play.

Jackson was lead by Kent State signee and 6-foot-7 senior Mark Henninger’s 14 points – Henninger caused problems on the inside early scoring 8 points – as he finished with sweeping hooks around the rim, over the top lob lay-ins against the 2-3 zone and reverse layups along the left baseline. His front court mate, Josh Egner (2010/Akron signee) was floating on the edges in the first half, as he laid an egg from the field – it would be a tale of 2 halves and a overtime to try and stop the high-jumping Egner, as he scored 10 points on the night and helped lead the charge in the extra session with 2 impressive swing-step dunks that cracked the Vikings shield. Brad Dupont(Wheeling Jesuit), a 6-foot-1 senior, scored 9 points and dropped 5 dimes from the lead guard spot, including a very crucial three pointer early in the overtime period.

Hoover was lead by their do-it-all, 6-foot-5 senior, Cory Veldhuizen, who scored a game-high 25 points and snared home a game leading 9 rebounds. Veldhuizen is a very skilled player that causes problems, as he is capable of taking bigs of the bounce, owns a wide array of spins, ball-fakes and a complete post package with up-unders, step-thrus and left or right shoulder finishes. Veldhuizen would later foul out of the game, but it was evident this kid is a winner and plays with a intense passion.

Nyles Evans, a 5-foot-11 junior, played solid in the second half getting by numerous defenders and drawing fouls on the second line of defense. He made numerous big plays, including the game tying free throws with 5 seconds left to send the game into overtime.

Foul shots and depth were the 2 deciding factors, as Hoover only shot 14-for-23 from the foul line on the night and they had to go to the bench early on when their big-men go into foul trouble.

Don’t be surprised if this is just a sample of things to come, as the Federal League tournament and the District Finals could turn this thing into a 3 game series.

Jackson travels to Columbus, Ohio Saturday to take on Huber Heights Wayne in the Scholastic Play-by-Play Classic.

(Picture provided by ohio.com)

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